Ric Edelman Dips His Toe Into Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency investing now has some validation from the founder of a $22 billion RIA. Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Services, has invested in the cryptocurrency index fund provider Bitwise Asset Management, according to a press release from Bitwise.

Edelman will also serve as an advisor to Bitwise, according to the press release. His duties will include helping the firm “educate and support financial advisors looking to bring diversified exposure of cryptoassets to client portfolios,” the company says.

Edelman joins a group of Bitwise advisors that already includes former Wealthfront CEO Adam Nash and former BarclaysGlobal Investors’ CFO Alison Davis, among others, according to the press release.

Bitwise says that last November it launched the first cryptocurrency index fund, the Bitwise 10 Private Index Fund, available to accredited investors in the U.S. for a minimum investment of $25,000, as well as an offshore fund available to international investors with a minimum of $100,000.

The funds charge a 2.5% management fee, which drops down to 2% for institutional class units with less than $1 million, according to Bitwise. The firm is offering these investments directly through taxable accounts and trusts as well as individual retirement accounts, according to the press release.

A Bitwise survey of more than 450 financial advisors recently found 83% of them have had clients ask them about investing in crypto, according to the press release. Those advisors also said the top two obstacles keeping them from allocating their clients into cryptoassets are "education" and "regulatory concerns,” the company says.

Ric Edelman

"I’m thrilled to be an advisor to Bitwise and help further its mission to bring institutional-caliber crypto exposure to investors in the U.S. and around the globe," Edelman says in the press release. "There is a technological and financial revolution taking place right now with cryptocurrency that has far-reaching implications. Every financial advisor needs to educate themselves about this space, and most should be considering an allocation for clients.”